MYSURU: The outcome of the Lok Sabha election is crucial to the stability of the coalition government, besides the stature of big leaders on the state’s political firmament. At stake is the leadership of two strongmen: BJP’s B S Yeddyurappa and Congress’ Siddaramaiah.
It is a twin challenge for Siddaramaiah, as he must win both Mysore and Bagalkot to keep his tag of being a leader with the state-wide appeal. After his defeat in Chamundeshwari, Siddaramaiah moved to Badami, in the backyard of Bagalkot, for his political rehabilitation, where he led the campaign from the front.
Elections to these two seats are being closely tracked by leaders and cadres, as it will also throw light on the Ahinda leader’s vote-catcher potential. A loss in these seats will mean a huge loss in his credentials, and voices of discontent could grow loud against his leadership by his own party leaders and cadres. Siddaramaiah’s role as Coordination Committee chairman could also come under the scanner.
Another sword hangs over his head: Mandya and Tumkur results. If JDS loses these prestigious seats, Siddaramaiah could come under sharp attack from both the JDS and Congress, but for different reasons.
The JDS will accuse Siddaramaiah of failing to bring his followers and former MLAs to Mandya to work for Nikhil Kumaraswamy and will hold him responsible for failure of vote transfer. There are already murmurs over non-cooperation from the Congress in these constituencies.
A prominent JDS leader expressed displeasure over Siddaramaiah’s failure to mobilise Congress leaders in Mandya. But Congress leader Shivanna countered this, saying that Siddaramaiah had campaigned with JDS leaders and also toured Mandya, Tumkur and Hassan.
A few Congress leaders from Tumkur have accused Siddaramaiah of sacrificing Tumkur workers’ interest and giving up the seat for H D Deve Gowda. The knives will be out if Congress does not win Mysore, and Gowda loses Tumkur, with the Congress high command looking to reap 18-20 seats from the alliance.
Political commentator Harish Ramaswamy said that Siddaramaiah has been successful in getting back Mysore to a certain extent, and has also kept Kurubas in good humour by fielding C H Vijayashankar.
In Bagalkot, Siddaramaiah has taken personal interest in both the candidate and strategy.
Veena Kashapppanavar was pitted against three-time MP Gaddigoudar, and the Congress strongman campaigned in all eight assembly segments in an attempt to wrest the seat from the BJP. Siddaramaiah made an attempt to win over the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and focused on consolidating Ahinda votes, that comprised backward classes, dalits and minorities. Yet,losing Bagalkot may not have much of an impact as Badami was just an experiment.